By Will Pearson, europeantour.com
in Zandvoort
Ahead of the 2015 KLM Open, europeantour.com explores historic host venue, Kennemer Golf & Country Club with the help of Dutch hero and former winner here, Joost Luiten.
This week hosting the country’s national Open for a third successive year, Kennemer remains a doyen of Dutch golf – one of ten Harry Colt layouts in the Netherlands and one of eight still in existence today.
The KLM Open holds a special place in both European golf and in European Tour history. First played in 1912, this year will represent the 96th edition – making it one of the oldest national Opens in Continental Europe.
Indeed, the event is one of only seven tournaments to be played every year since The European Tour’s first season back in 1972, along with The Open Championship, Open de España, Alstom Open de France, Italian Open, Omega European Masters and PGA Championship.
Kennemer will play hosts for the 12th time since the event became part of the fledgling schedule 43 years ago and it is a layout that remains universally acclaimed – lodged well inside many a top 100 golf courses in the world list.
I know I can play well on those sort of courses.
Joost Luiten
Founded in 1910 and located in Zandvoort – a popular Dutch seaside town – it was in 1927 that revered designer Colt was commissioned to lay a course amongst the rolling sand dunes and the result was a breathtaking links layout. Complete with a thatched roof clubhouse, the place has an authentic, timeless feel about it.
Today comprising a blend of Colt original holes combined with those re-sculpted by Frank Pennink in 1985, the course remains fairly faithful to the iconic style of its original creator. At 6,626, and a par of 70, it is by no means long in modern terms but still remains a golf course that turns heads and tests the world’s finest year in, year out.
As an historical aside, it is interesting to note that the Colt masterpiece bounced back from much modification during the German occupation of the Netherlands in the Second World War with, at one point, 122 Nazi bunkers scattered across the property during the 1940s as well as anti-tank walls. In the years that followed, the club was fostered back to its former glory, with many of the bunkers covered by harmonious looking dunes with just a few remaining in use today - one as the maintenance facility and three as shelters around the course.
Two years ago, Luiten defeated evergreen Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez in a play-off here to join Martin Lafeber as the only other Dutchman to triumph in their National Open since 1972, and the Bleiswijk native has a highly impressive record in this event – and on this course – to supplement his victory, too.
Luiten finished tied fifth here 12 months ago and runner-up here back in 2007 to go along with a sixth place finish at one of the other recent venues – Hilversumsche GC – back in 2011.
As the country’s number one ranked golfer, the clamour for the 29 year old’s services this week has, as you might expect, been frenzied and for some that attention could prove irksome.
Not so for laidback Luiten.
“I enjoy it,” says Luiten. “You have to enjoy it. As a player you don’t want to see it as pressure – it’s just part of the job this week. Your national Open is very important.
“Everybody wants to do something with you but that’s just because everyone wants you to do well. That’s what you need to keep in mind and hopefully we can do well!”
Overview
“A lot of the challenge here is hitting the fairways,” he reflects. “There are a lot of little gorse bushes that you need to stay out of so accuracy is at a premium. If you can hit the fairways then it becomes fairly easy to watch the pins – especially this year with it being a bit softer so the greens are holding. When the wind is picking up, especially, you have to be straight because otherwise it’s very easy to make double bogey or worse so keeping the big numbers off your card.”
Greens
“The greens are soft, as I say. I think at the end of the day you will start to see some spike marks, which can make things tricky. The surfaces are quite undulating so you have to find the right side of the hole – the low side – so you can make some birdie putts. If you miss them on the high side you have to be careful because it’s not hard to make three putts on these greens.”
The links effect
“This year it is not actually playing too linksy with a lot of rain last week so it’s very soft. This year it will play a lot longer than other years so you are going to see a lot more drivers from the tee.
“But the look is still there – it’s very traditional visually. I know I can play well on those sort of courses – I finished fourth at Gullane in July (in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open) – I’ve done well in the past here, I’ve won, so I know what I can do and hopefully I can go out and get that same feeling as in 2013 and do something special.”
The wind
“The wind is always a big factor here,” Luiten continues. “There is always wind and, being a links course in style, it is built on wind – it needs wind for protection. Some of the holes can play fairly short when it’s calm so let’s hope it gusts a bit this week!”
Key holes
“I thinkthe stretch from seven to 11is very difficult. Those holes are very tough and if you can make level par across those, across the week, then you’ll be doing very well indeed. They are all very narrow off the tee, and long when played into the wind. The eighth is a long par three, the ninth is a very tough driving hole so you have to hit the fairways on those holes.”
How it played in previous years
The last two victories here at Kennemer in 2013 and 2014 have come off the back of two very good, albeit differing, performances.
When Paul Casey triumphed last year, the Englishman ranked first in Greens in Regulation but 64th in the putting statistics, while Luiten prevailed in 2013 despite only finishing 47th in Greens but sixth in putts – again adding weight behind the old adage of ‘it’s not how, it’s how many’.
In 2014, the 473-yard 16th ranked hardest hole at Kennemer with champion Casey making par there each day, while he birdied the 562-yard seventh – ranking the easiest hole last year – in all four rounds.
Similarly, two years ago, Luiten played that week’s most difficult hole – the 418-yard ninth – in level par and made birdie at the easiest, the 525 yard 12th hole, each and every day.
Additionally, despite a par of 70, just six men have shot four rounds in the 60s here in the last two years. That super six? Luiten, Ross Fisher and Magnus Carlsson in 2013 and Eddie Pepperell, Robert Karlsson and Andy Sullivan last year. Tough school.
